Jinsei Game
by Taloun
Summary: The Vocaloid band manage to obtain a few copies of the newly released MMORPG, Sword Art Online. At first, it's just fun and sport until Miku, Kaito, Rin and Len find themselves caught up in a staged death game. Along the way, they make a few friends- and enemies- but will they ever live to see reality again?
1. Chapter 1

In the large apartment flat on floor 28, the shouts of battle could be heard. Behind the living room stairs sat two teenagers locked into combat, eyes glaring at the screen before them.

"Die, die, die! You little _creep_!" screamed the girl, blue eyes blazing with wrath. Holding the remote closer, she mercilessly smashed the controls with the skill of a well-seasoned player.

The boy next to her narrowed his eyes and leaned to the left, moving along with his character sprite, Lucario, who was being driven to the edge of the platform.

* * *

Both of them had been battling it out the entire morning, even forgetting to eat breakfast, which sat cold on the kitchen counter.

Luka eyed the neglected banana pancakes and orange slices curiously as she passed the refrigerator. Sighing, she picked up a piece of the fruit from the plate and popped it into her mouth.

They wouldn't miss it.

Not that much, anyway.

With that, she grabbed the rest of the food and made her way to the sofa, book in hand. Making herself comfortable under the blanket she swiped from Miku's room, Luka began reading, trying to block out the howling and yelling from the other side of the wall.

"What the hell?! No way! You cheated!"

"And how am I supposed to cheat playing a video game? Is that even possible?!"

"I don't know how you did it! But there's no way I lost…!"

"Ha. Well, whatever, but you gotta wash dishes now. I'm going to eat something."

"Wha-?! Stop acting like you're my older brother or something! 'Cuz, _news flash_\- you aren't."

"Yeah, if I were related to you, I'd _shoot myself_."

"What's that, you little creep?!"

"Can't hear me? Well, I said that if I-"

**CRASH**.

Luka felt a faint vibration, which she chose to ignore. Those two were so strange…  
They were fine with each other in public- they even got along. During filming, they were the perfect pair: siblings, lovers, mirror images… Even the media thought that they were twins.  
But after a few months of working with each other, they seemed more like rivals. It was actually kind of funny.

**CRASH.**

Hopefully they didn't break anything. They'd already gone through seven sets of Wii remotes. That and they would probably need all of their limbs intact for the next concert.  
More sounds of battle ensued from the other side of the wall.

"**OW**! Y-You_ bit_ me!"

Switching on the TV, Luka cranked up the volume.  
But they wouldn't do anything too extreme. Probably.

* * *

Trotting over to the white apartment door, Miku could see her breath come out in small white puffs as she fumbled for her key.  
Kaito trailed behind, trying to balance several heavy, squarish boxes on his way up the steps. Only the very tips of his blue hair showed over the load of baggage.

After days of camping in line, they'd finally gotten their hands on five copies of the newly released Sword Art Online, a long-awaited MMORPG game that was the first for the Nerve Gear system.  
But as soon as the store opened its doors, it was like a zoo.

Meiko had to practically shove people away while Kaito and herself made a beeline for the shelves.

But it was well worth it.  
She couldn't wait to tell Rin and Len.

"Weeeeerrrrrre Hooooooooome!"

Miku could hear eager footsteps rumbling down the hall, along with some arguing and shoving.

"Ah!"  
Rin's face appeared from the end of the hall. Covered with bruises and scratches, probably from some recent brawl.  
"Did you get it?!"

Len followed soon after, still wearing a kitchen apron and covered with soap suds. He was still holding a half-washed spatula in his right hand.

Nodding enthusiastically, Miku grabbed an objecting Kaito's arm and hauled him inside.

* * *

Kaito felt like collapsing on the floor and sleeping for a thousand years.  
Those stupid boxes were really heavy. And Meiko made him carry them all the way home while she stayed behind to go _shopping_.

But he still couldn't wait to try the game out. After a half an hour, several arguments and a fistfight, they'd finally managed to set up the NERVE GEAR system, avatars and everything.

"Okay, we need a game plan here!" shouted Rin, pumping her fist into the air.

Len ruffled her blond hair with his free hand, crumpling her white bow.  
"Why do you take video games so seriously? It's not like they're a matter of life or death, you know…"

She glared at him, slapping his arm away.  
"It's a matter of honor and integrity!"  
The girl exclaimed, standing with one foot on the table, arms crossed stubbornly.

"Right, right, let's start already!"  
Miku cut in, hopping up and down.

Plugging in the NERVE GEAR, Kaito laid himself down on the carpet.  
The girls decided to take the two couches in the living room, so he and Len were left with the floor.

Well, to be fair, they could have just gone to their own rooms, but they all wanted to stick together for some reason, like it was some sort of special occasion.  
Not like that really mattered.

Luka waved briefly to them before going back to her book. She had decided to sit this one out, even though there was an extra unused set for her. Her excuse was, "I have to keep watch in case the house catches fire," or something lame like that. Kaito just guessed that she was more interested in that book than she was playing games.  
Whatever 'Just Be Friends' was, it must be a pretty good read.

He could feel Len shifting around somewhere to his right.  
Miku was still reading over the instructions manual, fiddling with the NERVE GEAR.  
Rin had already gone ahead of everyone and now lay unmoving on the sofa, immersed in the virtual world of Sword Art Online.

Heart racing, Kaito slipped the visor over his head.

"_Link, start_!"

* * *

**End of Chapter!**

**…**

**I hope I did okay. Feel free to drop a comment.**

**Also, this is one of my firsts attempts at writing, so there's going to be a load of writing errors and grammar mistakes. Try to ignore them.**

**This will be a crossover of SAO and Vocaloid, but I should say that it will mostly be Vocaloid characters running around Aincrad, trying to beat the game. Making the main characters from SAO fit in without messing up the original plot would be too hard, but I might try anyway. And see if you can catch the billion song references I am going to clumsily add into the story! So far, I think I got in Children's War (Rin and Len arguing with each other) and Just Be Friends (The book Luka was reading).**

**And some important points regarding this first chapter (more like a prologue…)  
****-Rin and Len are not related, but they often fight like quarreling siblings.  
-****Miku, Kaito, Meiko, Rin, Len and Luka are all part of a famous band, called Vocaloid. They all live in future Japan, where SAO was recently released.  
****-Meiko stayed behind to go shopping, and Luka decided not to play the game.  
****-Luka likes banana pancakes! That's not relevant to the plot in any way, but whatever. **


	2. Chapter 2- Into Aincrad

**[Aincrad, Floor 1**

**5:22 PM]**

Mikuo could feel the wind rushing through the green plains, ruffling his character's hair. Sunlight poured down through the trees, creating small patches of gold that danced and swayed to the breeze. The scenery was amazing- grassy hills, crystal-clear lakes and flourishing valleys as far as the eye could see.  
Well, not really. If you looked past the mountains, there were only walls of blue that marked the end of the simulated area.

But it was still calming to look at. Quite different from the city he was used to, but that was nice, too.

It was good to finally be back.

From the hill, he could see the {{Town of Beginnings}}, where the other players milled around and talked to each other, exploring and purchasing items. Most of the newer gamers hung around the starting point, hoping to get some good info.

Except for this guy.

A lone player stood tensely on the field, swinging his sword haphazardly at a wild boar. He had on cheap armor which was available at the local NPC smith's shop, and used a thick, weighted blade.

Apparently, whoever it was didn't know too much about how the game worked.

Grinning to himself, Mikuo sat down on the hill, watching with mild interest as the swordsman was sent flying by the monster.

Newbies were such fun.

Then, the boar started to move towards the hill, with the player following closely.

A name hovered over his head in bold lettering.

_Rin_

Interesting.

At least it wasn't some stupid 18-letter long gamer name.

Now that Mikuo could see Rin up close, he noticed that his HP bar was almost gone. If that boar got another hit in, it would go down entirely, initiating the 'Character Death' sequence. And then the poor guy would be sent all the way to the {{Town of Beginnings}}, where he'd have to walk all the way back here. All of that hard work for nothing…

But that was just part of the game, right?

Everyone would have to learn on their own sooner or later.

…

…

Eh.

Picking up a small pebble from the ground, Mikuo cranked his arm backwards so his hand was by his ear, elbow positioned back. He could feel the system processing his actions, locking on the boar. A green light enveloped the stone as it shot from his hand and hit its target between the eyes, right on spot.

Letting out a final squeal, the monster burst into a million blue polygons, scattering and fading away.

"What the heck was that for?!"

The player whose health bar was flashing red stomped up to him, glaring and crossing his arms indignantly.

He was rather short, with spiky blond hair and unnerving crimson eyes that flashed dangerously. His lips were pinched into a tight frown, scrunching up his would-be handsome features.

"Eh?" replied Mikuo, slightly confused.

He'd just saved this guy, what was wrong with him?

"I totally had that until you butted in!"

"But… you were going to die…"

Rin's eyes narrowed further as he stepped menacingly forward, which would have been more intimidating if it wasn't for his lack of height.

Then he said something surprising.

"Teach me, then."

"What?"

"You hard of hearing?! Teach me whatever that thing was that you did! "

For some reason, Mikuo couldn't help but grin. Such boldness… would probably get you killed, but it was admirable.

"Fine. But for 50 Col."

"No way!"

The furious expression on Rin's face quickly melted away and was replaced by a look of disbelief.

"That's...Look mister, I gotta eat, pay rent…"

"That's not my problem."

"You little…"

"I wouldn't say anything too nasty if I were you." Mikuo replied with a smirk.

An animalistic snarl formed on the other gamer's face.

"Fine, I accept. Here's your bloody money," he muttered, opening his options menu with the flick of his wrist.

Catching the flying coins with a skilled hand, Mikuo pocketed the virtual currency. It really wasn't _that_ much, but it'd buy him a good meal.

Turning back to Rin, who looked pretty pissed, he drew his own blade, holding it out in front of himself.

"Okay, here's how sword skills work…"

* * *

Len was walking towards the main plaza when he heard a familiar tune.

A melodious voice rang over the sounds of the busy city-

"_In the short time we have to play out our lives_

_We get swept off our feet by the calm_

_Remaining with the memories we'll always have_

_Spinning them into two spirals and then they fade away.."_

Turning the corner, the boy tilted his head, searching for the source. There was not a single soul in the alley, but the song seemed to be getting closer...

"_As for me, I will sing the song of the present_

_That's all I can do, be singing and talking_

_I won't remember what happened at that time_

_But it's been engraved in my heart, so let me go…"_

Still, no one. Where was that coming from?

Only one way to find out.

Taking in a deep breath, Len began the chorus using his own deepened computer-generated voice.

"_al a re la ye_

_al a re la yo_

_al a re la ya_

_al a re ya..."_

The mystery singer paused for a moment as if surprised before continuing. The sound of the combined harmonies left a haunting feeling resounding through the empty courtyard, echoing over and over again.

Now smiling to himself, Len wandered through the streets, following his ears and weaving through the verses.

"_al a re la ye_

_al a re la yo-"_

Suddenly, something crashed into him from above, abruptly cutting off the second chorus.

Thankfully, it was a safe zone, or he'd have some major damage done to his health.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, I-I didn't mean to-!"

Len rubbed his head and sat up, looking at the person who had landed on him.

A girl with flowing green hair that was tied back in a ponytail stood about a foot away, looking flustered.

Her eyes were wide with worry as she offered out her hand to help him up.

On the edge of his vision, he could see a hovering name- GUMI.

"I really didn't see you there, it's my fault-"

"No, it's fine, stop apologizing already," Len interjected, trying to laugh it off.

The girl looked down and began wringing her hands nervously.

"S-so sorry, but is there any way I can make it up to you? I mean, I practically fell on your head, and-"

"No, no, it's just a game, so no damage done," he cut in again.

As far as Len knew, there weren't many female gamers. In fact, there was a good chance whoever GUMI was, 'she' was, in reality, actually a guy. But even so, there was some sort of authenticity about her.

"But I, I really should compensate somehow…"she trailed off, averting her gaze.

Sighing, he gave in, trying to think of something.

"Hmmm… how about…you sing another song for me?"

Gumi's eyes widened in surprise, her mouth forming a small 'O'.

"O-okay then… What do I sing?"

"Your favorite song by your favorite artist."

She hesitated a moment before drawing a deep breath and starting in that same controlled voice:

_Time is dead and gone,_

_Show must go on;_

_It's time for our act_

_They all scream at me,_

_They cannot see;_

_This curtain hides me_

_An amazing gift,_

_So quick and swift;_

_You were amazing_

_By myself I can't,_

_They start to chant;_

_Why are you not here…?_

The notes rebounded through the alley, adding to the song's mournful tune. You could almost feel the pain and sadness pouring out through the robotic tones generated by the system. Whoever GUMI really was, she sure knew how to use the game's vocal engine. She probably liked to sing a lot in real life, too.

Len immediately recognized the song as one of the band's- Circus Monster, by Luka. He'd have to tell her about it when he got back.

As soon as the final chorus ended, he smiled and clapped.

"That's really good!"

The girl blushed slightly, staring down at the ground self-consciously.

"Yeah, but I don't sound anything like that outside of the game…"

"I bet your real voice is even prettier. I'd like to hear it sometime," he blurted out.

Oh, wait, that came out weird…

A short, tense silence followed.

Clearing his throat uncomfortably, Len tried again.

"And, um, so Luka's your favorite singer, huh?"

GUMI paused indecisively before slowly shaking her head.

"No, not really… I just really like that song, Circus Monster. It's singable in both Japanese and English, and that's why I like it so much. But my actual favorite singer would be…uh,I- I think I like Kagamine Len the most."

Len froze.

_Does she mean me?_ he thought to himself, baffled.

"Really? Len?"

He barely stopped from pointing to himself.

In this virtual world of player-made avatars, no one would know who he was. Here, he wasn't a world-renowned superstar; he was just another gamer.

Heh… SAO was going to be more fun than he had originally thought.

* * *

Fumbling with the supple leather straps, Miku wrapped the belt around her waist, trying to figure out how to tie it down. The weight of the sword made her feel off-balanced and awkward.

Everything was so… real. Even though she had heard the reviews and seen the demonstrations on television, it was nothing compared to experiencing it firsthand. An incredible amount of work must have gone into re-creating every single minute detail in such a diverse world.

But somehow, she had gotten slightly off course. Kaito, Rin and Len had already gone off ahead, and Miku couldn't find them anywhere. Even after reading the manual over and over again, the game's terrain was hard to navigate. She couldn't even find the 'log out' button on the menu.

This was starting to look really bad.

"Ohhh, where could they have gone…?"

Miku winced. Even her own voice was different. Not as high pitched, but slightly lower and more mature sounding.

Even though no one else seemed to have trouble talking like she did, she found it incredibly perplexing and odd to speak and have a completely different sound come out of her mouth.

Starting down the path, she scanned her surroundings. Everything looked the same, rolling hills and grassy plains in all directions.

Sighing, the girl began to trudge back in the direction she had just walked from when a blueish light suddenly surrounded her. The glow intensified until it became almost blinding, blocking out her vision.

And before she knew it, she was standing in the middle of the courtyard of {{Starting City}}. Other players surrounded her on all sides, murmuring and wandering around in a somewhat confused manner.

_Well, that was terribly convenient, _she thought.

* * *

**[Crypton Apartment Complex, Floor 28**

**7:41 PM]**

The door slammed open, followed by shuffling steps. Some cursing and muttering could be heard, along with the clink of coin change.

Luka looked up from her book, taking off her reading glasses and setting them on the coffee table.

Meiko must be home.

Her guess was confirmed when the brunette woman stormed into the living with an aggravated expression and switched on the TV. Scanning the room, she sighed (to be more accurate, growled) and sat down on the floor next to Kaito, seeing that there was no space on the couch. Miku, Rin, Kaito and Len were still in the game. For three hours straight.

Frowning, Luka felt tempted to yank the NERVE GEAR off of their heads. It was normal for the net-game obsessed Rin to still be playing, but Miku, Len and Kaito… Was Sword Art Online really that much fun?

Suddenly Meiko was shaking her arm and pointing to the screen.

"Hey! Do you know anything about that?" she asked urgently, roughly turning Luka's chair toward the television.

There was something wrong going on with the evening news.

The newscaster, who was usually cool and composed, had papers strewn all over the desk, hands clenched in fists and eyes wide with panic.

"This is Miki reporting and- oh, screw that- THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT! We've just received a report from Argus! And it basically said, DO NOT TAKE OFF THE NERVE GEAR. I REPEAT, DO NOT TAKE OFF THE NERVE GEAR! And-"

The reporter made a wild grab for one of the flying documents, scanning it quickly.

"Please make sure any friends or family members using the NERVE GEAR are quickly and immediately transported to the nearest hospital. Do not take off or try to handle the NERVE GEAR in any way possible. There have been a reported 200 deaths already caused by this, so we ask that you leave this to the authorities and hospital staff. And please refrain from panicking," she finished awkwardly.

"Visit our website for more details concerning that. And,uh, have a nice day and coming up next is Al for this evening's weather report!"

Luka stared blankly, gaping at the screen. That report probably would have been really funny if it wasn't for the current situation.

She could hear the remote Meiko was holding crash to the floor, sending little pieces of plastic everywhere.

Rin, Len, Miku and Kaito were still logged in.

Laying down peacefully, they could have been sleeping.

Or dead.


End file.
